The Trump administration has intensified its economic and rhetorical campaign against Cuba, designating ten state and paramilitary entities on July 13 and coupling the move with a presidential warning that “many things are going to happen” within roughly two months. The twin actions mark the sixth sanctions round since May 1 and the most direct targeting yet of the regime’s domestic repression apparatus, while leaving investors to weigh the probability of a deeper disruption to the island’s already crippled economy.
The sanctions, imposed under Executive Order 14404, blacklist the Ministry of Tourism, the Rapid Response Brigades, the Territorial Troops Militia, the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, and several state-owned enterprises linked to the military conglomerate GAESA. The State Department described the designations as part of a “comprehensive push to end the Cuban regime’s malign activities” and to cut off funding streams that sustain its operations.
The economic backdrop is stark. Cuban tourism recorded a 48% decline in international visitors during the first quarter of 2026, with only 298,057 arrivals. The broader economy contracted sharply in the first half of the year, while average daily power outages reached 20 hours and the electricity deficit climbed to 1,955 megawatts. The sanctions directly target the Ministry of Tourism, which Washington calls the “largest single player in the tourism sector outside of GAESA,” and include energy firms Enetec S.A. and Coreydan S.A., as well as the foreign trade group GECOMEX and the maritime firm GEMAR.